PREGNANT TEEN IN HIDING AFTER MINISTER’S ‘RAPE’

A TEENAGER is pregnant and in hiding after allegedly being raped by an ex-minister.

According to Lesotho Times, the suspect was the country’s minister of Law from March 2015 to June 2017.

It is alleged that the suspect raped a 17-year-old orphan girl in Matsieng, west of Lesotho in January this year.

Sources close to the matter said that the victim’s relatives pretended nothing had happened until March, when some villagers began suspecting the girl was pregnant.

“The victim confided in one of the women in Matsieng who blew the whistle on the alleged rape. It is not clear why the matter was never investigated until it was reported on the social media three weeks ago,” one source told Lesotho Times.

Another source said the rape allegation was only investigated after sustained pressure from the Minister of Social Development, ‘Matebatso Doti.

“The minister (Ms Doti) has since made arrangements that the girl be taken to a secret location for her own protection and that of her unborn baby,” another source told Lesotho Times.

The suspect was arrested on 29 June and released on bail. He is due back in court to answer to rape charges on 21 September.